Chapter 343: Adrien, You Can Do It!

The Bucks players were stunned, and so were the Suns players. 

This was a true display of one man against the world, as Dong's defense left the Bucks with no chance to shoot, and when Dong had the ball, he had no intention of passing. He attacked one-on-one, two-on-one, three-on-one, four-on-one, five-on-one...

No matter how many defenders they put on him, he was determined to take them on alone!

The Bucks inbounded the ball from the baseline.

Sessions received the pass, but Dong was already waiting for him at the frontcourt. Seeing Dong take a couple of steps forward, Sessions panicked, even though he was still five or six meters away from Dong. He hastily passed the ball to a teammate.

And then... Dong took a step forward and jumped high into the air!

When Dong reached the height of the ball, his wrist was already over 3.5 meters in the air, and he intercepted the pass mid-air.

The arena fell silent once again.

No one expected Dong to be able to steal the pass.

After securing the ball, Dong dribbled up the court. Sessions tried to stop him, but Dong spun past him effortlessly.

Adrien stood under the basket, with his hands covering his lower abdomen, about ten centimeters below his belly button, trying to draw an offensive foul from Dong.

The poster dunk happened again!

"Bang!!!"

Dong posterized Adrien for the third time.

The score was now 39-21!

After landing, Dong smirked at the Bucks' bench and slowly walked back to his own half.

In these two minutes, Dong scored 10 consecutive points, while McGrady and the others didn't even reach the frontcourt. They stood at the backcourt, watching Dong's solo performance. →

"Fuck!!!

Adrien grabbed the basketball and kicked it away in frustration.

He was feeling aggrieved and angry, as he had been posterized three times in two minutes. After this game, he would become a laughingstock in the entire league.

"Beep!!!"

The referee immediately blew the whistle and called a technical foul on Adrien.

"Was that necessary...?"

McGrady muttered, feeling a sense of déjà vu from Adrien's angry kick. It was like a legacy, but not one that McGrady enjoyed.

Dong dribbled to the frontcourt to shoot the technical free throw.

"Swish!!!"

He calmly sank the free throw.

...

The Bucks called a timeout.

"Dong, you're amazing!!!"

All the Suns players on the bench rushed onto the court.

As soon as Adrien came off the court, he yelled at Mayo, "Why the hell did you provoke Dong?!"

Mayo grunted, "It's your fault for getting posterized, not mine."

"Go to hell!"

Adrien suddenly punched Mayo in the face.

"Aiyo, damn!"

Gentry was about to compliment Dong when he saw the chaos on the Bucks' bench. 

Adrien and Mayo were fighting each other.

"Adrien, you can do it!"

"Adrien, you can do it!"

"Adrien, you can do it!"

The fans in the arena, who loved to watch the drama, collectively cheered for Adrien, and the situation became more chaotic.

It took a while before Adrien and Mayo were pulled apart by their teammates, but the grudge between them was now firmly established.

The referee approached the Bucks' head coach to discuss the fight, as it was rare to see teammates fighting off the court rather than during the game. After some hesitation, the referee decided not to eject Mayo and Adrien.

...

Fifteen minutes later, the Suns players were almost asleep, and the situation finally calmed down. The game resumed.

However, the Bucks had lost their fighting spirit, and the deficit quickly widened to over 30 points, from the initial 19 points.

...

The score was now 67-29!

At halftime, the Suns led by 38 points.

In the second quarter, Dong made 11 out of 11 shots, scoring 22 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists, and 6 steals.

In the Suns' locker room.

Gentry grabbed Dong's arm again, examining it, "Dong, your recovery ability is truly terrifying."

"Fuck! Get your hand off me!"

Dong slapped Gentry's hand away, feeling disgusted by the old man touching his arm.

"Oh."

Gentry reluctantly stepped back, pushing the tactics board aside, and asked, "Who wants to play in the second half?"

Gentry didn't even bother with tactics, as the Suns were already winning by a large margin and couldn't possibly lose this game.

Hearing Gentry's words, Warrick and the others rubbed their palms in anticipation.

Channing Frye approached Dong and said in a low voice, "Dong, I want to talk to you about something."

"Go ahead," Dong replied, wiping his arm with a towel without looking up.

Frye hesitated before continuing, "My contract will expire at the end of this season."

"Oh?"

Dong finally looked up at Frye, "So, you're in a contract year?"

"Yes, that's what I mean."

"I understand," Dong said with a smile. "You want more playing time to improve your stats and get a better contract at the end of the season, right?"

"Um..."

Frye blushed a little but nodded.

Frye entered the league in 2005 as a power forward, but this season, the Suns had several players who could play that position, including Green, Gortat, and Whiteside. Even Dong and Durant often played the power forward role.

As a result, Frye had hardly received any playing time this season.

If this continued, he would struggle to secure a satisfactory contract at the end of the season.

Players like Frye didn't aim for championships; they didn't have endorsements or business activities, nor did they have investment ideas. In short, they relied on their salary, so it was understandable that Frye wanted a higher salary.

"Then you can play in the second half," Dong said, standing up and patting Frye's shoulder. "I've seen your efforts despite limited playing time. Go out there and prove yourself."

"Thank you, Dong!"

Frye nodded vigorously.

...

The second half began.

The Suns' lineup was: Wade Dong, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Channing Frye.

The Bucks had the ball.

Sessions dribbled and drove to the basket, seeing the slender Frye standing under the basket. He charged forward and attempted a little floater in front of Frye.

"Clap!"

Frye jumped and swatted the ball away with one hand.

"Not bad~"

Dong nodded in approval, got the rebound, and pushed the ball up the court.

Seeing Frye running alongside him, Dong tossed the ball off the backboard and turned to run back to his own half.

"Bang!!!"

Frye jumped and finished with a dunk.

The dunk wasn't flashy, but the Suns players still cheered, "Oh yeah~ Frye with the dunk..."

Frye was known as a big man who could shoot threes, and with limited playing time, it was rare to see him dunk.